Column Felix: Worry-free Christmas celebrations

In view of the current situation in the country and in Wageningen, which is still part of the country, although I increasingly feel that Wageningen should become a separate state, there is no avoiding the subject: the Dutch elections. Now that the white-haired saviour will likely take a seat in the prime minister’s office in The Hague, wrinkles from worrying begin to appear on many of the faces within my leftist progressive circle (the classical Wageningen bubble). Understandable, in my opinion. I would have liked to celebrate Christmas free from worries.

There are a few too many moments lately that make one think we are receding into more primitive times, one step at a time. I really dislike these moments. Have we learned nothing from thousands of years of bashing each other’s skulls? I believe we have.

Have we learned nothing from thousands of years of bashing each other’s skulls?

I often think of the concept of the Expanding Circle of Ethics by moral philosopher Peter Singer. In it, he states that over the course of history, ‘humans have expanded the circle of creatures whose interests they are willing to weigh as equal to their own’ (Wikipedia, 2023). This means that while we couldn’t care less what happened to a neighbouring tribe in historical times, we are now willing to (make an attempt to) follow policies that serve the interests of a large group of people.

We cared nothing for people of other races before and even considered using them as property. Women had no influence, while the stay-at-home male is fully recognised now. Animals, too, are subject to ethical considerations in our modern times. If you had said you were vegan out of principle five decades ago, you would probably be committed.

If you had said you were vegan out of principle five decades ago, you would probably be committed

These days, we may appear more distant than ever, but I don’t believe this to be true. The issue is that there are far too many organisations that benefit from pitting us against each other. Beneath the armour of empty shouting and hateful tweets, we secretly love each other more than we know. And with that in mind, I intend to have a worry-free Christmas.

Resource-student editor Felix Landsman (22) is a likely future graduate of Environmental Sciences and an aspiring adventurer. He is often looking for something.

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